Joseph D’souza

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May 31, 2006

Questions and Answers: Caste Discrimination

Thanks to a blog respondent, I feel prompted to answer some lingering questions several have asked:

Questions:

Why do you think there should be reservation on a caste-based system?

Why can’t we have basic encouraging programs from the government like free education and stipends from schools - higher education for the backward castes?

Why don’t you think the reservation system spoils excellence?

Why are politicians not implementing the quota system in the number of Ministers and Members of Parliament?

Why do you want to reverse the whole process? Do you mean that for 3,000 years the upper castes ruled, and so now let the backward castes rule and the upper castes be their slaves?

Aren’t we talking about making the same mistake our ancestors made for centuries?

Answers:

We have two major problems and challenges in India.

1. Caste Discrimination and Practice

A caste analysis of India cannot and must not be ignored for the good and well being of our country. If we are not proactive about including the 70% majority backward castes and Dalits in the fruits of development, our country is headed for big trouble. All our economic progress and achievements will be swallowed up by the kind of violence and rebellion we now see in the extreme Maoist and Naxalite movements that are spread from Nepal to Tamil Nadu. Who are these extremists except Tribals, Dalits and Backward Castes who have lost out on India's post-Independence progress?

This is because the English-educated upper caste of the 'India Shining' crowd are not even aware of the oppression and discrimination levied against Dalits, Tribals and the Backward Castes, leave alone taking the initiative to do something positive to include them in national development. I grant that there are those like our previous Prime Minister, V.P. Singh, and others from the upper castes who have tried to be inclusive in their thinking. However, these are of course the exceptions and not the rule.

We must note that the caste system has always been a policy of reservation. It has guaranteed 100% reservation of all the lucrative jobs, economic growth, and power (including religious power) for the minority elitist 15% upper castes for several millennia.

It is now the responsibility of the upper castes to determine how best they are going to undo the historical and present discrimination against the Dalits, Tribals and Backward Castes which has ranged from discrimination in marriage to education to economics to power to religion.

Why do you think the present government of Tamil Nadu, after coming to power immediately announced the bill to allow Dalits to become priests in government-aided temples? Why are Dalits not allowed to become priests in the first place? What about priesthood for Dalits in the major temples run and operated by the Brahmanical order?

I think the upper castes should lead the struggle for abolishing the caste system in the Parliament. Once the caste system itself is abolished and we do not face division and discrimination on the basis of caste, perhaps we can then think of economic criteria as a solution to reservation.

2. Hypocrisy in the Higher Levels

I do not deny that that there are the upper caste poor who must struggle to obtain seats in higher educational institutions. Some Christians face the same fate -- they are from Dalit backgrounds and their economic condition is pathetic. Muslims are no exception; they have a considerable number of people who are poor.

I think one of the major problems of the nation is the hypocrisy of our politicians and their policies towards education. The government should have long ago established English-medium schools with access to education of the vernacular language. Privately run English-medium schools have proliferated in the last couple of decades. This is a great business once again for the English-educated, powerful, elitist castes and those who can afford to join these schools. Those who are able to join such schools are thus given an unfair advantage in terms of training and education.

Why are all the institutes of higher learning in English when our national language is supposed to be Hindi? Who have the politicians tried to fool all these years except the majority Dalits and Backward Castes? Why do our politicians of the South who speak so passionately about education in their mother tongue send all their children to English-medium schools?

If the government had started English-medium schools for the Dalits and the Backward Castes 50 years ago, they would have made a clear statement that they had a planned program to include the deprived castes in national development and power.

While I agree with the argument about the state of the upper caste poor, I also must look clearly at the state of the Backward Castes and Dalit poor. Unfortunately, the percentage of the poor and those who are in actual back-breaking poverty who come from a Dalit, Tribal or Backward Caste background is completely disproportionate to the percentage of the poor among the upper caste.

What are our solutions for those people? We have to be inclusive in our thinking as Indians and find a solution for the majority population.

Posted by klajja at May 31, 2006 11:38 AM